Databases are well known in the art. Databases are created by a program operating under the control of a computer. A database is in general characterized by a database table having a plurality of fields with each field having a unique structural relationship to one another. Access to the data stored in the database table is also prescribed by unique syntax rules defined by the manufacturer or programmer constructing the database. Many examples of well known databases include: Oracle Relational Database Management System from Oracle Systems, Inc., and Informix Relational Database Management System from Informix.
Object programming is also well known in the art. Similar to a database, objects are also created by a program operating under the control of a computer. In object programming, the object is a data structure having procedures attached to it wherein the data is operated upon by the procedure. Each object can also contain data structure wherein the type of data and the variable name associated with that data is defined. These will be referred to as attributes of the object.
In the prior art, to define an object having attributes that are linked to the elements in a database table, the programmer had to define each object with its associated attribute linked to the particular field of the database table taking into account the structure and syntax of the database to which the data structure is linked. This linkage would be accomplished at compile time. There are at least two drawbacks to this prior art method. First, because each database has its unique structure and syntax, if the program were used with a different database table, all of the objects must be redefined with respect to the structure and syntax of the different database. The second problem is that each data object must be defined with precision and care and mapped to the database table. In the course of writing a program that acts on the data from the database, if a new object were defined, it too must be defined with respect to the elements within the database table. Errors can arise from the mapping of the attributes of data objects to the database table.